Split stay!!! How do people plan? Help!

[sarah05]

Staying 11/27/11-12/3/11. Okay, I have to make my ADRs on 5/31/11- 180 plus 10. But then I read that the November hours/ show schedules will not come out until May and December's will not come out until June! This is even a bigger issue than other times of the year probably because of the MVMCP, candlelight processional, etc. How am I suppose to plan my ADRs if I can't plan which park I want to be in? I need to know what nights will be the regular parade/fireworks, what nights Fantasmic will be, EMH, least crowded, etc. Probably going to buy TGM to help me figure all this out... but if the hours/schedule isn't out yet then what do people do? I mean theoretically the Dec schedule will come out the day after I can make my ADRs, but is this a for sure thing. Plus, just waiting that one day could make a difference in getting what I want, right???? It seems kinda hard and pointless to plan half of your trip if your not sure of the other half. How do people deal with this? Sigh. Plus, I read somewhere TGM may not make his recommendations until the schedule has been out for a little while.... is Touring Plans more on top of it? Will TP make recommendations THE DAY the schedule comes out????

 

[vicki_c]

Touring Plans will have recommendations out now I think (didn't check). Chances are good they will change them between now and then though. TGM will not post his recommendation until Disney releases hours, at least to the travel agent calendar. I think you're really panicking unnecessarily though. With a few very rare exceptions, calling exactly 180 days out is not critical. I wouldn't worry about it.

If you have some really popular must do restaurant, you can always make reservations for it for the last few (December) days of your vacation and then cancel the dates as soon as the hours are released.

Your title says "split stay" - did you really mean you are switching from one hotel to another - with 2 separate reservations? Or did you just mean your trip spans 2 different months? Because if you have 2 reservations, you will have 2 180+10 windows/booking dates.

 

[sarah05]

No, I just meant split between months. Sorry if that was confusing. So are the schedules that come out on the travel agency calendars and other websites accurate? I mean how often do they end up being different than the official one? If they are accurate, which is a good one to use? I don't understand how TP can make recommendations without the calendar. I mean I understand how they can give you tour plan for each park, but not the crowd calendar or best park recommendations.